The CA students are mandatorily required to undergo 3 years of Articleship Training under a Practicing Chartered Accountant as a part of CA curriculum. Students enrolled through CA foundation route are eligible to register for Articleship after clearing 1st group of IPCC (CA intermediate) & students enrolled under Direct entry scheme (after completing Graduation) are eligible to register for Articleship directly, however students are eligible to register for CA final only upon clearing both groups of IPCC (CA intermediate).
As per the ICAI regulations, a person registered as an articled assistant is entitled to receive a minimum monthly stipend as per the rates specified under the Chartered Accountants Regulations, 1988.
The current minimum rates of monthly stipend payable, depending on the situation of the normal place of service of the articled assistants.
As per theICAI notification in respect of Payment of stipend for the Cities/Towns having population of 20 lakhs and above the stipend per month during the first year, second year and during the remaining period of training shall be Rs.2000, Rs. 2500, and Rs.3000 respectively. Furthermore, for the Cities/Towns having population of 4 lakhs and above but less than 20 lakhs the stipend per month during the first year, second year and during the remaining period of training shall be Rs.1500, Rs.2000, and Rs.2500 respectively. In case of Cities/Towns having a population of less than 4 lakhs the stipend per month during the first year, second year and during the remaining period of training shall be Rs.1000, Rs.1500, and Rs.2000 respectively.
However, most of the students are raising their voice and stating it to be unfair practical training for CA articles with minute stipend which demotivate them. Further, the workload in CA firms is immense and nominal stipend could not even fulfill basic requirements of CA articles in terms of inflated prices of vehicle fuel, hostel rent, food & beverage.
The CA Articles has voiced their concerns and requested the governing body, ICAI to increase stipend upto that level from which articles can carry out their daily essential expenditure so that they can pursue practical training without any disturbance and hassle.
How is the scenario different in CMA?
As approved by the Council in its 313th Meeting held on July 21, 2018, the ICMAI has notified the suggested minimum stipend for the Practical Training Students be increased.
As per the notification, the employer has to pay minimum of Rs.10,000 in the metropolitan cities and Rs.8000 in case of other places during 1st year; in case of 2nd years minimum Rs.10,000 and Rs.12,500 is payable in other places and metropolitan cities respectively; and in case of 2nd years minimum Rs.12,000 and Rs.15,000 is payable in other places and metropolitan cities respectively.
Concerns Raised by CA Articles?
The CA students have been raising their concerns since October 2018, however, still no action is being taken on the part of ICAI. The CA Articles have pointed out that the stipend paid to them has not undergone any change since the last 30-35 years.
Most of the students claimed to have raised their grievances on ICAI’s official website but no satisfactory reply was received.
Comparison of Stipends paid in India to CA Articles with that of other countries
It is noteworthy that CA articleship can be done in India or abroad. As per the sources, the stipend paid in USA, Canada, Australia, U.K, Dubai, Nigeria, and Singapore is Rs.30,000; Rs.22,000; Rs.25,000; Rs.20,000; Rs.20,000; Rs.15,000; and Rs.15,000 respectively, which is approximately more than ten times the stipend prescribed by the ICAI.
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